Columbus attorney robbed at gunpoint inside law office

A lawyer was robbed and beaten in his own office, and it happened during daylight hours. The crime occurred at a law firm on Second Avenue just after 5 p.m. Thursday.

The victim said he was working in a room near the back of the building when a man approached him from behind, put a gun to his head, and demanded money.

Being robbed in that type of setting was so far from the lawyer's mind, he originally thought it was a friend playing a joke on him. But as he turned around, he discovered it was no laughing matter.

The Muscogee County bailiff who works at the Columbus government center, located less than a block from the crime scene, is a long-time associate of the victim.

"Well, I was shocked because he's such a great guy. I've known him for many, many years. It just makes me mad, it upsets me, when people think ‘you have something I want and I just want to take it away from you,'" said Chambers.

The two men engaged in a struggle and at one time, the victim said his hands were on the gun, but the 64-year-old man was soon overpowered by an attacker he described as being half his age. The victim was punched several times in the face, leaving black and blue marks, and forced into a closet. He said the gunman stole almost $3,000 from his wallet.

The victim sometimes practices criminal law. When asked whether he knows of any dissatisfied clients who might want to do something like this, he didn't have any in mind. In fact, he said all of the people he's represented recently have no reason to be unhappy.

However, he believes the unknown suspect must have had some inside information about the firm, knowing what time he would be alone in the building and when he would be carrying a large amount of cash.

The suspect is described as a 5'10" black man in his 30s, weighing about 220 pounds and wearing a cap with ear flaps, a brown jacket and dark pants.

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